What's the Role of a System Administrator in a TV Broadcasting Studio?

If you have a bachelor's degree in a computer-related field and want to work in television broadcasting, a job as a system administrator could be ideal for you. With the right qualifications, you could be on your way to working in a television station studio, managing computer systems and performing numerous other roles.
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Professional Roles of a System Administrator

As a system administrator within an organization or a company, or in this case, a television station, you will monitor, update and troubleshoot the business' computer systems to maintain efficiency. You might program computers and set up user accounts, along with designing and implementing such projects as infrastructure and network architectures. Your duties might also involve installing and managing software and working to protect computer systems against external threats or viruses. As a system administrator, you'll usually need to respond to users' needs, providing network and system support.

Depending on range of your role, you could need to support both end user workstations and company servers. You might need to provide backup and recovery for critical data and implement a disaster recovery plan in case of complete system failure. Though many large companies might have a separate network administrator or department, you'll need to be familiar enough with networking to troubleshoot basic connectivity issues. You'll also need to know how to install, troubleshoot and maintain the type of workstation or server operating systems and applications the company uses. Due to the critical nature and dependency on computer systems used in a TV broadcasting studio, you'll generally be required to provide 24/7 on-call support.

Typically at the location of an organizations' physical computer network

Education and Training

Your expected education, experience and software knowledge requirements will vary depending on your potential employer. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), most system administrators earn a bachelor's degree, though specialized education or professional certification might be sufficient to qualify you for the job (www.bls.gov). Industry-standards certification, such as CompTIA's A+ credential, could help you obtain an entry-level job. Specialized credentials, like Microsoft, Cisco or Linux certifications, that are relevant to a particular employer's systems might provide you with a hiring advantage.

The BLS reported that many system administrators start out as computer support specialists, providing basic technical support. To advance to a system administrator position, you'll need a higher level of experience maintaining and configuring desktop and server systems. You'll also have the opportunity to work with various types of computer software, depending on the television studio and the computer systems it uses.

Salary, Job Forecast and Advancement

In 2014, the BLS reported that the median wage for a system administrator was $75,790. You could advance your career once you acquire more experience, moving into a senior-level or supervisory position. The BLS predicted that demand for system administrators would grow 8% between 2014 and 2024. This growth was expected to stem from business' continued reliance on computer networks and need for information security, although the demand for additional personnel may be tempered by increased reliance on 'cloud' computing, the BLS noted.

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